Saturday, 24 August 2019

Judge Names Special Prosecutor In Jussie Smollett Case

A Chicago judge has announced the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the handling of the Jussie Smollett case.

Former U.S. Attorney Dan K. Webb was appointed on Friday to lead a probe to determine if there was misconduct in the filing and eventual dropping of criminal charges against Smollett.

Smollett claimed in January that he was the victim of a hate crime, but police in February said that Smollett had hired associates to stage the attack. Smollett was later indicted for making a false claim. But then prosecutors unexpectedly dropped all charges.

Smollett's lawyers had asked a judge in July to reconsider the decision to appoint a special prosecutor to review the case.

The special prosecutor will have the authority to file new charges against Smollett if deemed appropriate.